Well the day dad come nad gone, and we were at a loose end as to what was the issue with Rod's bike. There were some things we couldnt test properly. But Hassan was going home to Barnaul tomorrow and I knew a very well regarded motorcycle mechanic in Barnaul called Viktor. We had to get Rod to Viktor so he could test every component, from the electrical circuitry, the regulator etc.

In the meantime, the rest of the crew would ride on and wait for Rod before the Mongolian border. (we had to cross the border together because the 3 newer bikes had all been imported on a single carnet to the Russia - Kazakhstan customs union, so to cancel the carnet, they had to all exit together.)

With that all figured out, it was time to break out the beer ... and the hats.

Hassan, Yana and Zhenya (the cook) joined in:

Prutser and Beamster werent drinking so it took them a little longer to get into the hat wearing thing:

Yana figured out a way to get Prutser and Beamster to drink ... she broke out the vodka and used that age old Russian line ... lets drink to friendship. You cant really say no to that can you.

and before long, they were wearing hats too:

Yana, who was enjoying having fun with this bunch of motorcycling foreigners in her lodge in the middle of the russian wilderness, decided to throw in a new item into the mix ... karaoke ...

Rod's eyes lit up ....

Beamster helped pick out the tunes ...

While Rod sang along, looking like a character from Midnight Cowboy ...

But the old boy could still shake his moneymaker on the dancefloor .....

(The astute will have spotted the Youssou N'Dour music video in the background - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k. Seven Seconds was about as long as Rod's bike would run, so it was pretty appropriate really.)

It's always a bad idea to point a gun at one's own head... Especially while drinking... and in the second picture of Colebatch's last post, it looks like there are rounds in the chamber! Glad no one caught a bullet that night. Crazy Russians! (no offense to any Russians reading this, of course )

It was made in China and if it is real, it is a horrendously cheap copy. You can see the mold marks on the trigger guide and along the underlug. In addition, there isn't a gap at the crane - indicating that it is probably a fake. What you see as cartridges may well be a sloppy plating job (it is chromed, rather than nickle plated) and if you look closely at the barrel, it appears to have a plug in it.

It may in fact be real - but I doubt it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by max384

Fantastic ride report!

It's always a bad idea to point a gun at one's own head... Especially while drinking... and in the second picture of Colebatch's last post, it looks like there are rounds in the chamber! Glad no one caught a bullet that night. Crazy Russians! (no offense to any Russians reading this, of course )

__________________
Mike -

"For those who fight for it life has a flavor the protected never know."
USMC 65-68 RVN 66-67

The Dutch drunk as much as the other 3 guys. But Beamster almost had to do that on her own.....
I'm the boring type........that would say thank you...

Yeah, I bet you're a total bore.... No way, man....anyone who takes an airhead where you do is the opposite. I was refering to the fact that the Dutch have quite a rich heritage when it comes to brewing beer.!

It was made in China and if it is real, it is a horrendously cheap copy. You can see the mold marks on the trigger guide and along the underlug. In addition, there isn't a gap at the crane - indicating that it is probably a fake. What you see as cartridges may well be a sloppy plating job (it is chromed, rather than nickle plated) and if you look closely at the barrel, it appears to have a plug in it.

Re: your point about horsepower.
Beginners often think more is better so go for a GS 1200 or a 950/990 Adv....Less is definitely more.

Rod is spot on here - I have a 990 and before that a 950 crazy mad fun, but if I was going to doing more single seat touring I would drop down to a much lighter bike. (Well maybe, there still is something to be said for doing 100mph+ down gravel roads )

I didnt no, but friends have used it as an adventure bike, one of them last year (2011) riding it from London to Magadan. It not only did the job, but did it very well and completely trouble free. While he loved the bike and it was super reliable, he did mention there were times (Kazakhstan, Mongolia) when more power would have been nice.

The wet weight of 133 kgs with fuel is OK, but its 9 kgs heavier than the fuel injected Husaberg 570 (124 kgs wet weight) I already have, which has twice the power, similar reliability and service requirements, and much better (and longer travel) suspension out of the box. So if I want a light adventure bike I will use the Husaberg.

Thank you for all that info.

Sounds like the Berg will be a better option anytime, but from what i know, that bike is a dirt bike and like most of its kind it has service intervals based at hours of operation, not based on km. How would you manage to overcome this problem?

__________________Adventure is not a cable channel.Freedom from the prison of pavement.
The beaten path is for beaten people.Pain is momentary.
Giving up is forever.Rest when you're dead.WINDRIDER

Sounds like the Berg will be a better option anytime, but from what i know, that bike is a dirt bike and like most of its kind it has service intervals based at hours of operation, not based on km. How would you manage to overcome this problem?

One of my good friends (Beta) just took a 570 across South and Central America mostly offroad for 5 months, clocking up 20,000 miles (32,000km) . He changed oil about every 50 hrs - that's approx 3000 km. With an oil cooler and extra oil capacity you could easily push that to 5000 km.

Which is perfectly reasonable for adventuring.

On top of that, oil changes are very easy to do on the Husaberg. Its actually a messy business on the xchallenge, which theoretically has an oil change interval of 10,000 km - but in reality I recommend earlier as the oil is usually dirty by 6000 km. An easy change every 5000 km vs a messy one at 6000 km is not a difference worth factoring in to the equation

Well thought out and detailed comments on various bikes and ADV travel. Should be required reading for everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colebatch

(a) Keep my bike and do the X-moto swap ... swap my good bits over to a x-moto thats never been ridden off road and with 5000 km (3000 miles) on the clock. By the time I sell the Xmoto forks and wheels and other bits I will never need, I could have a near new bike for very little cost (only time).

I think this is the best option overall. But why not start with an X Country?
Why the X Moto? Is there a significant difference? Or even another Virginal
X Challenge?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colebatch

The wet weight of 133 kgs with fuel is OK, but its 9 kgs heavier than the fuel injected Husaberg 570 (124 kgs wet weight) I already have, which has twice the power, similar reliability and service requirements, and much better (and longer travel) suspension out of the box. So if I want a light adventure bike I will use the Husaberg.

It's true the little WR250 Yamaha is heavier than it should be ... but do you really believe the Husaberg could match it in longevity? How many 'Berg's have done RTW or similar adventure rides? The WR's are not without some issues ... but generally good. (from what I've read) Many of them are on the road/trail, being hammered and seem to be holding up.

Still, its a tiny bike. Maybe not so great for the wide open, high speed tracks you like. Stay with the BMW's ... you are an expert on them and have TONS of spares.

PS: I'm doing the same with my now well hammered 50,000 mile DR650. Buying a low miles Virgin, swapping everything over.

Catched up - stil as great a report as it was when I started following :)
The more I read about 690's, the more I'm loving my own. I never thought it would be a good bike to travel with... I might have to come back from that opinion. Depends offcourse on the roads/tracks you'll be traveling on.